Two advanced thermal management devices that are relatively common in high power applications are thermoelectric devices (also known as thermoelectric coolers or Peltier devices) and heat pipes. Thermoelectric devices are solid-state components that allow heat to be ‘pumped’ against a temperature gradient when electrical energy is input to the system. Heat pipes are passive devices that rely on phase change (evaporation & condensation) to very efficiently transfer heat from the evaporator location to the condenser location.

When simulating thermoelectric devices and heat pipes in the context of a larger electronics system, it typically is impractical to include the details of the physical phenomena. Instead, the thermal effect of each device is generally desired with appropriate checks and limits to ensure accurate operation.

This webcast explores the fundamental operation of each device and the details of simulating them in an electronics system using STAR-CCM+®.